AUBURN — It wasn’t exactly the kind of opener Elaine Derosby was looking for from her Edward Little softball team.

With a young squad and a lot of players in new positions, taking on a veteran club like Messalonskee on Wednesday was a tall order to start the spring.

“When I saw them first on the schedule, I was a little unhappy about it,” Derosby said. “They didn’t lose a single senior. They’re very experienced. Even if we put the ball in play, they weren’t going to kick the ball around.”

Though EL was within a run for most of the game, the Red Eddies could only muster four hits off Eagles pitching. Then Messalonskee broke the game open in the seventh for a 6-1 win.

“When I look at that team and how well they play, that’s where we’ll be a year from now,” Derosby said. “That’s what we talked about before and after the game. That’s our goal. They are where we were a year ago. That’s where we want to go.”

Kassi Michaud pitched six strong innings for the Eagles and Jordan Roy finished the job in the seventh. Michaud struck out  seven and walked just one.

“Kassie pitched a good game,” said Messalonskee coach Leo Bouchard, whose team earned the second seed in Eastern A last year before losing in the quarterfinals to Brewer. “I thought she had very good control. She was very crisp with her pitches.”

EL had just two hits through the first five innings. Danny Rock, Sarah Hammond, Kory Norcross and Danica Nadeau had the only hits for EL.

“We’re focusing on hitting this year,” Derosby said. “We put the ball into play. I can’t ask for anything more than that. Our offense will come around. This is a stepping stone, and we’re building for 16 games.”

EL got a single from Rock in the first and a walk by Hannah Farrington in the second. Norcross doubled in the fourth, but those were the only baserunners EL had through five innings. Michaud was cruising along, striking out six during that time.

“Knowing that the people behind me can back me up is a good feeling,” said Michaud. “It helps me relax on the mound. It makes it easier to pitch. “

Emily Schario pitched well for EL, scattering eight hits and keeping Messalonskee within reach.

Michaud, Nikki Collier and Courtney Veilleux each had two hits for the Eagles. Though Messalonskee stranded three runners in the second, a Kylee Knight single in the third scored Phoebe Pelletier for the first run.

The Eagles threatened in the fifth. but EL exited the inning without allowing a run.  A hit ball that struck a runner and an infield fly enabled EL to escape the inning while Messalonskee stranded three. In the sixth, an error helped make the lead 2-0 with two outs. Natalie Hunt singled and then scored on a mistakein the outfield.

EL got one back in the bottom of the inning. Nadeau entered as a pinch-hitter and drilled a shot to deep center for a home run. Hammond and Rock reached base on a single and an error respectively, but Michaud escaped the threat. She served up a flyout and a pop up to end the inning.

“We were confident that we had the defense to make the plays,” Michaud said.

Messalonskee then broke the game open with four runs on four EL errors in the seventh.

“Some of our miscues, we had people starting in new positions,” Derosby said. “We’ve changed things up to make us stronger in the end.”

Michaud and Collier each drove in runs while two other runs came in on errors. Roy then came on to pitch the seventh and struck out one in an easy inning.

“This is our first time out playing in an actual game away from home,” Bouchard said.” I thought the girls responded well. They had a sense of urgency when it was 2-1. They got the runs we needed.”

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